yolowire.com - The price of Copper has fallen below $9,000 U.S. a ton for the first time since April of this year as the global selloff in the industrial metal accelerates.
Copper’s price has been slumping on growing concerns about demand in China, where an economic slowdown appears to be worsening, hurting industrial and construction activity.
The price of copper has declined 20% since hitting a record high in mid-May of this year as data points to rising inventory levels and weak demand in the Chinese market.
A selloff in technology stocks has also raised worries as there were expectations copper’s price would surge as its use grew in data centres and power infrastructure that fuel ArtificialIntelligence (A.I.) models and applications.
Pessimism surrounding copper worsened after a recent meeting of China’s ruling Communist Party failed to deliver any meaningful stimulus that would support the metal’s demand.
Copper’s price fell as much as 2.2% to $8,900 U.S. a ton on the London Metals Exchange in the last 24 hours.
However, copper’s price decline is not unique. Other metals are also seeing their prices fall, with tin dropping 2.6% and zinc falling 1.5% in recent trading action.